Dorothy (Chase) Evens (1689 - bef. 1782)

Born 24 Jan 1689 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of John Evens — married after 25 Apr 1719 in Newbury, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died before 22 Apr 1782 before age 93 in Nottingham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Chase Ashley [send private message] and Darlene Bissonnette [send private message]

Biography

Dorothy Chase, daughter of Daniel Chase and Martha (Kimball) Chase, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts on January 24, 1688/9.^[1]

Marriage

The marriage intentions of Dorothy and John Evins were recorded in Newbury town records as follows:

John Evins informed of his intent of marriage with Dorothy Chase & I posted up their intent as ye Law directs April ye 25th 1719.

Curiously, no entry for their marriage (or marriage intentions) is included in Vital Records of Newbury, Vol. II - Marriages & Deaths.^[2] Their marriage is confirmed, however, by a deed dated December 31, 1729 in which Dorothy Evens and her husband John Evens sold land in Newbury which had been allowed to her mother Martha Chase as her dower third of the estate of Daniel Chase.^[3]

Children

Dorothy and John had the following children:

1. John, b. May 12, 1720 in Newbury,^[4] d. May 8, 1736 in Salisbury^[5]
2. Martha, b. April 18, 1723 in Amesbury^[6]
3. Martha, b. July 23, 1727 in Amesbury, m. January 13, 1743 Joseph Whicher in Salisbury, d. before January 30, 1782 in Nottingham, New Hampshire. (See discussion and sources in Martha's profile.)
4. Deborah b. _________, d. April 27, 1736 in Salisbury^[5]

As discussed in daughter Martha's profile, based on the date of her marriage to Joseph Whicher, there is some doubt as to whether Dorothy and John had two daughters named Martha and, if so, whether the second birth date is accurate.

Residence in Newbury, Amesbury and Salisbury

Based on the places of birth of their children, Dorothy and John initially lived in Newbury, before moving to Amesbury by 1723, and finally to Salisbury by 1729. The fact that they were living in Salisbury by 1729 is established by the deed referenced above under "Marriage," in which they are described as "of Salisbury."^[3]

Removal to Nottingham, New Hampshire

Dorothy and John removed from Salisbury to Nottingham, New Hampshire in June 1766. By deed dated June 7, 1766, John and Dorothy Evens of Salisbury sold 33 acres of land in Salisbury to Nathaniel Dole of Salisbury for £166. The deed was witnessed by Abner Clough and Joseph Whitter (Dorothy and John's son-in-law). John and Dorothy acknowledged the deed before a justice of the peace in the Province of New Hampshire on July 3, 1766, indicating that they had moved to New Hampshire before that date.^[7] As established by daughter Martha's October 1780 will, which refers to her deceased father John Evans as having been "of Nottingham," New Hampshire,^[8] Dorothy and John had no doubt moved in June 1766 from Salisbury to Nottingham, which is about 12 miles west of Durham.

Death

Based on daughter Martha's October 15, 1780 will, which refers to "my Honble father John Evans Late of Nottingham Deceased" and and contains a bequest to her son Joseph of land in Nottingham after her mother's decease,^[8] Deborah was still living in October 1780. She was probably dead by April 22, 1782, however, as an inventory of daughter Martha's estate taken on that date included land in Nottingham (which was presumably the land that Martha had inherited from her father and in which Deborah had a life estate), but there is no mention of Deborah's life estate in the land.^[8]

^{[8] [7] [3] [6] [5] [2] [4] [1]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Volume I. Births. The Essex Institute. 1911. p. 88. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Volume II. Marriages and Deaths. The Essex Institute. 1911. pp. 168-169. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Essex County Deeds, Vol. 58. pp. 173-174. Link to pages at familysearch.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Volume I. Births. The Essex Institute. 1911. p. 163. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society. 1915. p. 556. Link to page at archive.org
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Vital Records of Amesbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1913. p. 95. Link to page at archive.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Essex County Deeds, Vol. 126. pp. 14-15. Link to pages at familysearch.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Rockingham County Estate Papers, Old Series, No 4775. Link to probate file at ancestry.com.